Chair

ABSTRACT

THERE IS DISCLOSED A CHAIR, ESPECIALLY AN OFFICE CHAIR, INCORPORATING A FORMED LEG MEANS HAVING A LOWER LEG EDGE FROM WHICH SAID LEG MEANS IS INWARDLY RETRACTED, SAID LEG MEANS PROVIDING AN ESSENTIALLY CIRCULAR-SHAPED SUPPORT SURFACE. A PLURALITY OF INSET-DISPOSED TRAVELLING MEMBERS IN THE FORM OF ROLLER OR BALL MEMBERS IS PROVIDED FOR SAID LEG MEANS TO IMPART MOBILITY TO THE CHAIR. A PLATE OR RING-SHAPED SUPPORT MEMBER IS INSERTED IN SAID LEG MEANS, THE TRAVELLING MEMBERS BEING INSERTED IN SAID SUPPORT MEMBER AT APPROXIMATELY THE REGION OF SAID LOWER LEG EDGE AND BEING SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORMLY DISTRIBUTED WITH RESPECT TO SAID LOWER LEG EDGE, WHEREBY DURING SLIGHT TILTING OF THE CHAIR THE CONTACT SURFACES OF NEIGHBORING TRAVELLING MEMBERS TOGETHER WITH THE REGION OF THE LOWER LEG EDGE DISPOSED INTERMEDIATE THERETO PROVIDES A THREE-POINT-LIKE STANDING SURFACE WHICH LIMITS TILTING OF THE CHAIR.

1 United States Patent [72] inventor Laszlo Mazak Tennmoosstrase l5,Zurich-Gockhausen,

Switzerland [211 App]. No. 760,028 [22] Filed Sept. 16,1968 [45]Patented June 28, 1971 [32] Priority Oct. 3, 1967 [33] Switzerland [31]13769/67 [54] CHAIR 1 Claim, 1 Drawing Fig. 2

[52] 11.8. C1 248/158, 248/188.1, 248/425 [51] Int. Cl. ..F16m 11/22[50] Fieldofsnreh 248/158, 188.1.128, l29,349,4 16.425 158: 16/24,47;297/310, 270; 108/150 [56] Referencs Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 244,1637/1881 Arndt 16/47 1,060,076 4/1913 Glowacki 16/47 Primary Examiner-Edward C. Allen Attorneys-Jacobi and Davidson and Werner W. KleemanABSTRACT: There is disclosed a chair, especially an office chair,incorporating a formed leg means having a lower leg edge from which saidleg means is inwardly retracted, said leg means providing an essentiallycircular-shaped support surface. A plurality of inset-disposedtravelling members in the form of roller or ball members is provided forsaid leg means to impart mobility to the chair. A plate or ring-shapedsupport member is inserted in said leg means, the travelling membersbeing inserted in said support member at approximately the region ofsaid lower leg edge and being substantially uniformly distributed withrespect to said lower leg edge, whereby during slight tilting of thechair the contact surfaces of neighboring travelling members togetherwith the region of the lower leg edge disposed intermediate theretoprovides a three-point-like standing surface which limits tilting of thechair.

VPATENTEDJUNZMQ?! 3588.013

INVENT OR 4112,40 M/ZAK ATTORNEYJ,

CHAIR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to animproved chair, especially an office chair, possessing a formed leg orpedestal portion which is inwardly retracted from its lower edge ormarginal region and possesses an essentially circular-shaped standingsurface.

Chairs of the aforementioned type, in contrast with those having a legformed of a star-shaped arranged strut means, the so-called crossarrangement, are increasingly becoming more widely accepted'because oftheir stability and for reasons of their aesthetic appearance. If forinstance chairs with a crossleg arrangement are used in offices thensuch are equipped with pivotable rollers in order to impart mobility tothe chair, these rollers being mounted at the struts of the crosslegarrangement. As a result, the crossleg arrangement is raised aconsiderable distance from the floor. This not only limits the leg roomof the user, rather also neither improves the stability of the chair norits aesthetic affect.

However, the stability of such chairs equipped with a crosslegarrangement represents a considerable problem in that, particularly withcrosslegs having rollers the danger of tipping the chair is considerablyincreased if the lever action occurs centrally between two neighboringcrosslegs, unless the crosslegs extend considerably past the seat orseating surface. However, such an arrangement increases the danger ofpassersby tripping over these extended crosslegs, apart from thedisadvantageous economical and aesthetic factors.

Most people who have worked in an ofiice have already experienced howunfortunate the conception of office chairs having crosslegs equippedwith rollers has turned out to be. More precisely, most of these personshave already experienced how easily a chair of this type which is loadedat the outer edge of the seat tends to shoot away, particularly then ifthe outer seat edge extends between two struts of the crosslegarrangement.

On the other hand, chairs with a formed leg which is retracted inwardlyfrom its lower edge have proven themselves to be considerably moreappealing, cheaper, and practical. Apart from the same leg room which isequally available completely about the entire chair the surfaceexpansion or extent of the leg is reduced in comparison to that of acrossleg arrangement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is a primary object of thepresent invention to render a chair of the aforementioned type mobilewithout having to worry about the danger of the chair tilting as wouldbe the case with a chair having a crossleg arrangement and rollers.

Another, more specific object of the present invention relates to animproved chair which is equipped with a new and improved leg arrangementequipped with travelling members, such as rollers or balls for thechair, to render same mobile, while at the same time eliminating thedanger of the chair tilting or shooting away.

Still a further significant object of the present invention relates toan improved construction of chair, especially an office chair, which isrelatively simple in construction, economical to manufacture, does notprovide the potential hazards of use as sociated with the aforementionedprior art type chairs, and at the same time is still appealing to theeye and extremely utilitarian.

Now, in order to implement these and still further objects of theinvention, which will become more readily apparent as the descriptionproceeds, the chair of the invention incorporates a plurality oftravelling members in the form of roller or spherical bodies which aredisposed in inset or recessed fashion at the leg of the chair and'serveto impart mobility to the chair. More precisely, these roller orspherical bodies are arranged at a plate or ring-shaped support which isinserted in the chair leg, and further, such rollers or spherical bodiesare located at the region of the lower edge of the leg and are uniformlydistributed with respect thereto. In fact, the arrangement of the rolleror spherical bodies is undertaken in such a fashion that during slighttipping or tilting of the chair the contact surfaces of neighboringroller or spherical bodies together with the region of the lower legedge disposed intermediate thereto provide a three-point-like standingsurfacewhich limits the tilting of the chair.

By virtue of these measures it is possible to provide a comparativelyextremely safe office chair which, although it can slightly tilt, stillcannot shoot away beneath the user since after tipping or tilting of thechair the three-point support becomes effective which then provides forthe chair a standing surface which is satisfactory for the shifted ordisplaced center of gravity.

In the context of this disclosure, when speaking in terms of chairshaving a formed leg there should also be understood those type chairs inwhich the leg is, for instance, connected by welding rigidly with thecolumn between the leg and the seat.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The invention will be betterunderstood, and objects other than those set forth above, will becomeapparent, when consideration is given to the following detaileddescription thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexeddrawing wherein the single FIG. shows in fragmentary per-- spective viewa chair designed according to the teachings of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Describing now the drawing, theexemplary embodiment of inventive chair encompasses a seat 1, agenerally elevationally displaceable telescopic column having a pin orshaft 2 secured to the seat 1, and a cylindrical portion 3 as well as aleg portion 4 which is formed at the cylindrical portion 3 and is drawninwardly or retracted from the lower edge 5.

Naturally, this chair together with the seat, the column, and leg can beformed of a single piece or the telescopic column arrangement canconsist of more than two components. Furthermore, the chair can beequipped with any desired type of adjusting means for regulating theheight of the seat and/or the inclination of the backrest. Additionally,the leg 4 which in the exemplary embodiment is of circular configurationcan also have a different form, for example a polygonal shape, andfurther can also be provided with openings.

As will be best recognized by referring to the single FIG., a supportplate 6 is arranged at the side of the leg 4 facing the floor and isdisposed in recessed fashion in such leg. Furthermore, the centralregion of this support plate 6 is preferably drawn in or retracted. Thesupport plate 6 is fixedly connected with the leg portion 4, forinstance through the use of screws 7 or equivalent fastening expedients.

A number of travelling members 8, for instance in the form of rollers orspherical or ball elements, are rotatably imbedded in the support plate6 at the region of its marginal edge and are uniformly distributed aboutthe periphery of such support plate. More precisely, these roller orspherical bodies 8 are advantageously arranged in such a fashion thatthe contact or rolling surfaces of each spherical body 8 extends byseveral millimeters past the standing surface of the chair formed by theedge 5 of the leg portion 4. In this manner the chair is rendered mobilewithout raising the chair a considerable distance from the floor.Consequently, the aesthetic affect which has been attained due to theconfiguration of the chair is retained and the previously existing legroom is not impaired even though the chair has been constructed to bemobile.

Now, if the chair is tilted or tipped, then, the marginal edge 5 whichis only slightly spaced from the floor immediately comes into contactwith the floor and together with the contact or rolling surfaces of twoneighboring spherical bodies 8 forms a three-point-like standing surfacefor the chair which prevents any further tilting thereof.

Finally, it should be mentioned that the support plate 6 can also bereplaced by a ring-shaped support member or by a number of individualelements each of which carry a roller or ball or spherical body.

It should be apparent from the foregoing detailed description, that theobjects set forth at the outset to the specification have beensuccessfully achieved.

I claim:

1. A pedestal chair comprising the combination of:

a seat portion;

a single leg supporting said seat portion; and

a base at the lower end of said leg, said base comprising asubstantially circular disclike body having a diameter significantlygreater than the thickness of the leg and a floor-covering areaapproximately the same as the area of the seat portion, said body havinga flat bottom surface;

a plurality of roller members greater than four, circularly disposed inthe bottom surface of said body,

said roller members being mounted in a circle having a diameter smallerthan the outer diameter of said body and significantly larger than themajor transverse dimension of said leg,

said rollers further being mounted on radii which are separated by equalangles, the lowest portions of said roller members having floor contactpositions lying in a plane spaced from and parallel to said bottomsurface of said body;

an annular ring depending downwardly from the periphery of said base,the lowest extremity of said ring lying in a plane parallel with andbetween the planes containing said bottom surface of said body and thecontact portions of said roller members,

the radius of said ring being sufficiently larger than the circle inwhich said roller members are mounted to provide a plurality of pointsof contact any one of which, with two adjacent roller members, form atriangular support when said leg is tilted in any direction from thevertical.

